October 11, 2009

"People with HIV in the United States are likely to get a further option for use in first-line drug combinations within the next few weeks, following yesterday’s decision by the US Food and Drug Administration’s Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee to recommend marketing approval for maraviroc (Selzentry in the USA, Celsentri elsewehere), the CCR5 inhibitor manufactured by Pfizer.

"Maraviroc has already been approved for use in combination with other antiretroviral drugs in treatment-experienced patients with HIV that is CCR5-tropic (virus which uses the CCR5 receptor to gain entry to CD4 cells). Maraviroc is the first of a new class of antiretroviral drugs which block the CCR5 receptor.

"All patients being considered for maraviroc treatment must undergo tropism testing to ensure that they have CCR5-tropic virus. Anyone with a virus population that is not CCR5-tropic will not experience a viral load reduction when treated with maraviroc."